Developers see new opportunities at the intersection of brownfields redevelopment and public health

Smart Growth America 3/6/14 You might be familiar with the concept of brownfields—vacant sites that are known or suspected to be contaminated and which must be remediated before they can be reused. A related, but less well-known concept is healthfields, which turn former brownfields into community health facilities. Healthfields are gaining wide support within regulatory and policy circles, and their popularity opens up new opportunities for real estate developers in these fields. Now, healthfields’ rising prominence in policy and regulatory communities is creating a new opportunity for specialization—and profit—for companies involved in land development. Though there are currently no programs directed specifically towards healthfields, separate programs exist at all levels of government aimed at encouraging both brownfields redevelopment and improving public health. Developers involved in creating healthfields can benefit from both sets of programs, creating a new opportunity for synergy within the regulatory structure. >> Read more